Tongue-ties
The use and efficacy of tongue-ties has spawned much debate, and in 2009, veterinarians at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, led by Safia Barakzai conducted extensive research, which was published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, to evaluate the use of tongue-ties on racing performance in Thoroughbred racehorses.
Racetrack incentives
The horseracing industry is battling for its life, and the key point of contention is medication—not just a push for uniform medication rules, but a movement to eliminate all race-day drugs. Two years after the Breeders' Cup banned anti-bleeding medication for its juvenile races, Gulfstream Park in Florida has announced its intention to offer Lasix-free races for 2015, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is considering doing the same for its tracks. North America is the only region of the world that allows race-day medication.
Los Alamitos Race Course - dedicated thoroughbred meet heralds a new expanding racetrack
Los Alamitos, in Southern California, rose to national prominence as the base of Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome and this summer joins the main California Thoroughbred circuit with 3 meets scheduled for this year. The inaugural meet this July will host the Los Alamitos Derby-G2, with a guaranteed purse of $500,000. The buzz is almost tangible!
Northern Dancer - a giant among Thoroughbreds
Few horses were ever as animated and filled with a zest for life as the great racehorse and sire Northern Dancer. The bay son of Nearctic needed all the grit and exuberance he possessed, however, because he broke through prejudice and naysayers at every turn.
Royal Ascot - history, tradition - and 5 days of unsurpassable racing!
Royal Ascot attracts the best trainers and horses from around the world. Watched over by Her Majesty The Queen, with pomp and ceremony adding to five fabulous days of racing, it's easy to see why Ascot draws the international crowd.
"The history and tradition of the place are what makes it so special; it has been going since the early 18th Century." said Ramsey, who has been involved in ownership since 1969 and numbers the 2005 Dubai World Cup among the long list of big races he has plundered, months before the Royal Ascot meeting last year.